Gold-separator.



No. 7I0,690. Patented Oct. 7, I902.

W. W. M. HICKEY.

GOLD SEPABATOB.

(Applicltion filed Dec. 23, 1901,)

(No Model.)

UNTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

\VHI'IE XVOLF M. I'IICKEY, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

GOLD-SEPARATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.710,690, dated October7, 1902.

Application filed December 23, 1901. Serial No. 86,93 (No model.)

To (0Z7, whom it 772(01/ concern:

Be it known that LWHITE WOLF M. HICKEY, a citizen of the United States,residing in the city and county of San Francisco,State of California,have invented an Improvement in Gold-Separators; and I hereby declarethe following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

My invention relates to an apparatus for separating gold from sand andother material with which it may be associated and means for saving andretaining the gold.

It consists in a novel arrangement of suspended oscillating sluices andri'ffles, a means for supplying water and material and distributing thesame over the surfaces, means for arresting the gold and separating itfrom the sand and discharging the sand from the apparatus.

It also consists in means for separating the larger and worthless rockor gravel and discharging it independent of the sand and otherdischarges.

It further comprises details of construction, all of which will be morefully explained by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which-Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section made through the apparatus.Fig. 2 is a plan of the sluice e7. Fig. 3 is a plan of the tank Fig. 4is a plan of the short sluice 44.

Ais a framework of any suitable form or construction best adapted tocarry the operative parts of my apparatus. The upper part of thisframework carries a hopper 2, into which the material containing thegold or other heavy matter which is to be separated therefrom isdelivered by sluice or other convenient means. Into the hopper 2 wateris discharged through a perforated rose-jet, as shown at 3, and thesupply, if plentiful and suitably located, can be delivered by pipes;but if there is but little water and it is desirable to use it over asoften as possible it is elevated through a pipe l by means of apump-plunger operating therein and actuated through a connecting-rod5from a lever o and a crank 7 upon some revoluble shaft of theapparatus. The outer end of the rod 6 is here shown as suspended from aswinging rod or link 8, so that as it is moved by the crank 7 it causesthe connecting-rod 5 to swing backward and forward, and thus verticallyreciprocate the slidable guided rods 5, through which connection is madebetween it and the pump-plunger.

The bottom of the hopper 2 consists of a perforated plate 9, which isslidable backward and forward against the bottom of the hopper, and itis movable upon antifrictiouroller bearings 10. Beneath the hopper arethe sluice-frames 11 and 12, which are suspended from the frame A bylinks 13, so that they may receive a longitudinal swinging movement. Theupper frame 11 has a perforated screen-bottom, as 14, and the frame 12has angular riffles 15, extending across from side to side, the anglesbeing uppermost and the edges of the riftles at a short distance abovethe bottom of the sluice, so that the finer material may pass beneaththese ritlies and in contact with the bottom, which is covered withmetal, and may be amalgamated, so as to obtain any gold which is thuscarried along in contact with it. The larger portion of the passingmaterial passes over these riffles, and from their peculiar shape andposition they form little dams over which the material flows, and at thefoot of each it forms a plunging current which carries the material intoforcible contact with the bottom of the sluice before it rises to passover the next riffle. This peculiar arrangement of riitles is veryeffective in saving the gold which passes beneath and over them. Thesluices are oscillated by means of a pitman 16, extending from a log orlugs on the sluice to one part of the double crank 7 before referred to.The perforated bottom 9 of the hopper 2 is in like manner oscillated by1068.118 of connecting-rods 17, one end of which rods is attached to thesides of the sluice 11 and the other end is connected with the slidablebottom 9, so that this bottom is moved in unison with the movements ofthe sluices, while the hopper 2 remains stationary. In this manner thematerial within the hopper is constantly agitated and caused to fiowthrough the perforations in the bottom and fall upon the screen-bottomof the uppermost sluice. These two sluices l1 and 12 are slightlyinclined, so that the flow of material will be from the receiving endtoward the opposite end. The end of the sluice 12 is the bottom of thesluice 12 and oscillates therewith. This sluice discharges into ahopper-shaped receiver, as at 20, this receiver being fixed to the topof a closed watercontaining tank 21. Within the receiver is anamalgamated drum 22, journaled and revoluble beneath the opening 20, sothat the material falling through this opening falls upon the top of thedrum, which, being amalgamated, provides another surface for saving anygold which may have escaped the riffies in the sluice above. The lowerpart of this drum revolves in water contained in the tank 21. the tank21 are journaled trunnions 23, around which the endless canvas belt 24is passed. This belt is sufiiciently slack so that its central portionconcaves downwardly into the water beneath the drum 22, and the twoparts of the belt may be kept separate by means of one or more rollers25, extending across from one side to the other of the tank. This beltmay be of any well-known and appropriate construction and may be drivenby any of the well-known means. The sand or other material escaping overthe drum 22 is washed off in the water within the tank and falls uponthe belt 24 and is carried by it up over the outer end of the tank 21,where it is delivered into a sluice 26, and the water overflowing fromthe tank at the same point carries the sand down, delivering it intoanother opening hopper 27 to fall upon a second revoluble amalgamateddrum 28, contained within the hopper and dipping into a water-coutainingtank 29, similar to the one previously described. The endless travelingbelt 30,

-mounted and carried in'all respects similar to the one shown at 24,receives the material which falls from this drum and delivers it uponthe inclined top 31 of a tank 32. The center of this top 31 has acircular opening through which the material may fall into the tank,andwhile the sand is thus delivered upon it the wateroverflowingfrom thetank 29 serves to carry the material along with it and into the tank. Avertical shaft 33 is journaled to turn centrally within the tank, itslower end in a step at the bottom, and this shaft carries the stirrers34, which are fixed to it and, as here shown, in the form of rectangularloops of difierent lengths, so that as the shaft revolves these loopspass through and agitate all parts of the mass within the tank andvprevent it from settling to the bottom.

32 is a metal cylinder fixed within the rectangular tank surrounding therevoluble arms 34 and leaving a space at the corners into which thewater may .pass free of the greater portion of the sand and materialwhich has traveled with it to this point. This water may then bereturned to the pump through At opposite ends and upon the top of areturn-pipe 38 in a practically filtered and clean condition. Theoverflow from the interior inclosure 32, passing down the chute 35,falls upon a water-wheel 36, so journaled as to receive its impact. Inorder to prevent any coarse material from falling upon and clogging thewater-wheel, I have shown a curved grating 37, extending above thewater-wheel from the higher part of the sluice to the lower, and by thismeans the coarser material is carried clear of the wheel, only the waterand the finer material acting upon it. The shaft of this water-wheel 36has sprockets upon the outer end, and from these sprockets a chainpasses around a sprocketwheel mounted upon the shaft of an amalgamateddrum 39, journaled at the foot of an ofiset 40 at the lower end of thesluice 35, so

that the material before finally escaping is again brought into contactwith an amalgamated surface to save any valuable material which may haveescaped to this point. Over this drum is an arched grating41, whichprevents any coarser material from coming into contact with the drum.Thus the gratings 37 and 41 are hinged at their upper ends, so that theycan be easily turned backwardly about their hinges, the lower endsresting upon the bottom of the sluice when they are in use. The verticalshaft 33 has its upper end turnable in a guide which is hinged, as shownat 42, and the opposite end is normally held in place by a button orlatch, as at 43. This being turned to one side allows the hinged guideto be turned back, and the shaft 33, with its stirrers 34, can then beeasily removed from the tank at any time.

In some cases it maybe found desirable to separate the sand from thewater without allowing the two to enter the tank 32.. In this case Ihave shown a short sluice 44, adapted to fit over the tank 32 andreceive the discharge from the belt 30. A parabolic partition 45surrounds the sleeve 46 of the vertical shaft, and as the ends of thepartitions diverge outwardly, leaving channels upon each side between itand the sides of the sluice, the sand will be diverted by this partitioninto the channels and will thus flow over into the sluice 35 withoutentering the tank 32. A considerable portion of the water will flow overthe top of the partition 45 and be allowed to fall into the tank 32,from which it may be returned by the part 38 for further use, aspreviously described.

When this apparatus is to be used for milltailings or fine pulverizedmaterial, the apparatus as here described will be sufficient for allpurposes; but when used for placermining or working material whichcontains large gravel and worthless material I employ a sluice 47, whichis adapted to be hinged to the lower end of the screen-bottomed sluice11, forming a practical continuation of it at a considerable incline.The lower end of the sluice 47 rests upon an antifrictional roller 48,so that it is movable longitudinally in unison with the movements of thescreen 11, to which it is detachably connected. This sluice 47 has atits lower end divergent partitions 49 upon each side of the center,which is open at this point to allow the shaft 33 to extend up throughit. The sides of the sluice 47 terminate before reaching the extremelower end of the sluice, and the partitions 49 thus divert any largegravel outwardly through the spaces thus left and discharge them towardthe machine, leaving only such material to be operated upon by themachine as will pass through the screen-bottom 14 of the sluice 11.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination in a gold-separator of inclined suspended sluicesconnected and movable in unison, the uppermost of said sluices having aperforated or screen bottom, a close bottom in the lower sluice andangular rifiies having upwardly-converging sides said riffles extendingacross the sluice and havingtheir wide bases out of contact with thebottom of the sluice, whereby the finer material may pass beneath theriflies and the greater portion of the material may pass up the inclinedsides of the riifle and over the top thereof, and a hopper through whichmaterial is delivered into the upper sluice.

2. A gold-separator including inclined detachable screen frames withsuspending links, means by which a longitudinal oscillation is produced,a screen-bottom in the upper sluice and a close bottom in the lowersluice, substantially A-shaped riffles extending across the lower sluiceand with their wide bases or under sides out of contact with the bottom,whereby the finer material may pass beneath the riffles and another andgreater portion of the material may pass over the tops of the riffles,and dams are formed at the base of the riftles which result in thematerial being carried into forceful contact with the bottom of thesluice, a stationary hopper located above the upper sluice, a perforatedbottom movable beneath the hopper, connections between said bottom andthe sluices whereby it is oscillated in unison therewith.

3 A gold-separator including separable chutes inclined in the samedirection with suspending links, mechanism whereby they may beoscillated longitudinally, a screen-bottom to the upper sluice andangular inverted riffles extending above the close bottom of the lowersluice and out of contact therewith, a stationary hopper located abovethe upper sluice, a movable perforated bottom, and antifrictionalrollers upon which it is supported below the hopper, links connectingsaid bottom with the movable sluices whereby said bottom is oscillatedin unison with the movement of the sluices, a rose or sprinkling devicedischarging water into the hopper, a supply-pipe and pumping mechanism,connections between said mechanism and the crank-shaft by which thesluices are oscillated whereby the movements of the sluices and thepumping mechanism are made in unison.

4. The combination in a gold-separator of inclined suspended end-shakingsluices having a perforated inclosed bottom respectively, and invertedriftles extending across the lower sluice out of contact with thebottom, a hop per with a perforated oscillating bottom located above theupper sluice, a pumping mechanism and means wherebyit is actuated inunison with the oscillations of the sluices, a plurality of amalgamatedrollers journaled and turnable with their lower portions submerged inwater-tanks, chutes for delivering the material upon the tops of saidrollers, endless traveling belts submerged in the tanks and receivingthe material as it falls from the rollers, said belts discharging thematerial from each of the tanks successively, and a tank having avertically-journaled shaft and stirring-arms into which the material isdelivered, said tank having an inclosure exterior to which the water isseparated from the sand, and a pipe by which said clean water isreturned to the pumping apparatus.

5. The combination in a gold-saving apparatus of inclined suspended endshaking sluices, with perforated inclosed bottoms and riftlesrespectively, said riffles being substantially A-shaped in cross-sectionand having their wide bases out of contact with the bottom of thesluice, a plurality of tanks with submerged amalgamated revoluble drumsto receive the material and endless traveling belts beneath the drumsacting to transmit the material after it passes the drums, a verticalrectangular tank into which the material is discharged from the last ofthe belts, said tank having a circular inner compartment within whichthe material is received, a vertical shaft and stirring-arms carriedthereby revoluble in an inner compartment, a pipe connecting with theouter compartment to return the clear water therefrom and a pumpingapparatus operated in unison and acting to deliver the return-water intothe supplyhopper of the apparatus.

6. The combination in a gold-separator of inclined suspended end-shakingsluices with perforated bottoms and riffles, a stationary supply-hopperwith perforated shaking bottom, a water-supply pump and mechanism bywhich the pump and the shaking sluices are actuated in unison, aplurality of water-containing tanks with revoluble amalgamated drumsjournaled horizontally across 'them, and chutes by which the material issuccessively delivered upon the tops of the drums, endless travelingbelts passing beneath the drums to receive and transmit the materialfalling therefrom, a separating-tank with vertical shaft and stirrerscarried thereby, a discharge-chute, a Water'wheel located in said chutein the path of the passing material and one or more amalgamated drumsjournaled ITO across the lower part of the sluice connections betweensaid drums and water-wheel whereby they are rotated by the passingmaterial.

7. The combination in a gold-separator of astationary receiving-hopper,a water-supply therefor, a movable perforated bottom, inclinedoscillating sluices upon which the material and water are delivered, aplurality of water-containing tanks, with amalgamated drums journaledand revoluble therein and endless traveling transmitting-belts passingbelow the drums, a separatingtank into which the material is deliveredand from which a portion of the water is separated and returned in aclear condition, a sluice into which the material is delivered from saidtank, a Water-wheel and revoluble amalgamated drums driven therebylocated in the sluice, and arched screens extending over the water-wheeland the drums as described.

8. The combination in a gold-separator of a stationary receiving-hopper,inclined longitudinally-oscillatingsluiceslocatedbeneath the hopper withperforated bottoms and riffies made substantially A-shaped incross-section and with their wide bases presented toward and maintainedout of contact with the bottom of the sluice whereby the finer materialpasses under the riftles and the larger portion of material passes overthe tops of rilfies, a perforated bottom to the hopper movable in unisonwith the sluices, and an inclined chute having its upper end hinged tothe uppermost movable sluice, a roller upon which the lower end issupported and diverging partitions at the lower end by which coarsegravel is discharged exterior to the machine.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

WHITE XVOLF M. HIOKEY. Witnesses:

S. H. NOURSE, GEO. I-I. STRONG.

